Tag Archives: affordability restrictions

The Boston Globe, on November 26, 2009 reported that Governor Deval Patrick had signed into law a recently enacted statute dubbed the “expiring use” bill. This new law will have the effect of preserving as affordable, thousands of units of housing in Massachusetts intended to be used by low-income residents. In a November 30, 2009 press release announcing the new law, the Patrick Administration stated that the bill “creates a regulatory framework to keep affordable rents in properties where long-term publicly subsidized mortgages are paid off and affordability restrictions can then expire.” The press release also claims that as many as 90,000 housing units in Massachusetts could be affected by expiring affordability restrictions, with about 17,000″ of those units at risk of losing their affordability through expiring use over the next three years.” These numbers are simply staggering, so, understandably, this new law, if it does what they say it does, could be a very significant arrow in our quiver of affordable housing preservation tools, and may even present distressed asset investment opportunities. Continue reading →